Fall a fair time across eastern Carolinas
Although Horry, Georgetown and Brunswick counties don’t have respective grand county fairs, fairgoers have a hat trick of full-scale fairs in the eastern Carolinas, all opening next week, and plans continue for the Horry County Fair to return in April.
Closest to the Grand Strand, the Eastern Carolina Agricultural Fair, on U.S. 76, on the east end of Florence, is first to open, going Oct. 13-17. The S.C. State Fair in Columbia is Oct. 14-25, and N.C. State Fair in Raliegh rolls Oct. 15-25.
Both state fairs will welcome some stars to serenade some evenings.
The S.C. State Fair has booked Rhett Akins’ son, Thomas Rhett, on opening night. He’s had four top-five country hits since 2013, most recently with “Crash and Burn” and “Make Me Wanna.” Other acts include Shawn Mendes on Oct. 16, Gladys Knight Oct. 18, and Cole Swindell Oct. 21.
FireHouse will rock on Oct. 15, the first night of the N.C. State Fair, with other acts such as Band of Oz and The Embers for a beach music concert Oct. 21, and two country acts with N.C. connections taking turns on successive Saturdays: Jason Michael Carroll, from Youngsville, about 20 miles northeast of Raleigh, on Oct. 17, and Wilmington native Charlie Daniels on Oct. 24 with his band.
Check out our guide with the basics to all three fairs, and enjoy an easy escape to celebrate autumn.
Although spring seems so far away, mark your calendar, too, as plans continue for the first Horry County Fair since 2009, April 8-17 at Myrtle Beach Speedway, off U.S. 501, near Carolina Forest.
Steve Zacharias, the racetrack’s general manager, said Monday that the process to obtain permits and have everything in place legally continues through Horry County Council, and that otherwise “we’re good and ready to go on our end.”
By basing the scheduling for the fair in April with “local families and kids in mind,” Zacharias said, it also will not conflict or happen too close to a bike rally in May.
Zacharias said this quest has been a project, especially since initial hopes did not work out for April this year, but the preparations for 2016 will all be “worth it.”
Contact STEVE PALISIN at 843-444-1764.
If you go
Eastern Carolina Agricultural Fair
WHERE: 5226 E. Palmetto St. (U.S. 76), Florence, just east of Francis Marion University
WHEN: Oct. 13-17
▪ 4-10 p.m. Oct. 13-15
▪ 4 p.m.-midnight Oct. 16
▪ 10 a.m.-1 a.m. Oct. 17
HOW MUCH: $8 ages 11 and older, $4 ages 3-11, free ages 2 and younger
ALSO:
▪ $20 “Mega Pass” including admission and unlimited rides for one person on any day of fair, available online through Monday.
▪ $25 unlimited rides hand stamp daily
SCHEDULED ENTERTAINMENT: Free with fair admission
▪ “Banana Derby,” 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 13-16; and 1:30, 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 17.
▪ Lance Gifford Magic & Illusion Show, times to be announced.
▪ Rosaire’s Royal (pig) Racers, 6 and 8 p.m. Oct. 13-16; and noon and 4, 7 and 10 p.m. Oct. 17.
▪ “Lady Houdini,” 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. Oct. 13-16,; and 2, 6:30 and 9 p.m. Oct. 17.
INFORMATION: 843-665-5173 or www.ecafair.com
S.C. State Fair
WHERE: 1200 Rosewood Drive, Columbia
▪ From Interstate 20 west from Florence, take I-77 south to Exit 6, and turn right (west) on Shop Road, and reach fairgrounds in 3 miles.
▪ From U.S.-76/U.S. 378 west from Sumter, once inside Columbia city limits, continue on Garners Ferry Road, past I-77, then left on North Beltline Boulevard, right on Rosewood Drive to Assembly Street/George Rogers Boulevard, and left on the latter to fairgrounds.
WHEN: Oct. 14-25
▪ 3-11 p.m. Oct. 14
▪ Noon-11 p.m. Oct. 15, 18-22 and 25
▪ Noon-midnight Oct. 16, 23
▪ 11 a.m.-midnight Oct. 17 and 24
ADMISSION:
▪ For ages 6-54: $1 opening day for fairgrounds only, $7 advance, $10 at gate
▪ $7 ages 55 and older
▪ Free ages 5 and younger,with adult accompaniment
▪ Free for active and retired military, and dependents, with military ID
▪ Parking $5 cash in fair lots; parking for cars with an official handicap license or placard available near south gate.
▪ For rides: Wristbands (good for unlimited rides, Mondays-Fridays) and tickets available.
GRANDSTAND CONCERTS: Ticket purchase required for most events, but fair admission included –
▪ Thomas Rhett, 7 p.m. Oct. 14. $20.
▪ Shawn Mendes, 7 p.m. Oct. 16. $15.
▪ The Volunteers – U.S. Army Field Band (www.armyfieldband.com/pages/ensembles/vols.html), 5 and 7 p.m. Oct. 17. Free with admission, and no wristband required.
▪ Gladys Knight, 6 p.m. Oct. 18. $20.
▪ Cole Swindell, 7 p.m. Oct. 21. $15.
▪ Newsboys, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 23. $15.
▪ Israel Houghton and New Breed, 4 p.m. Oct. 25. Free with wristband, available 1 p.m. that day.
INFORMATION: 803-799-3387, 888-444-3247 or www.scstatefair.org
N.C. State Fair
WHERE: 1025 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh – From Interstate 95, take I-40 west, then Exit 289 east on Wade Avenue, then north onto Edwards Mill Road to fairgrounds
WHEN: Oct. 15-25 –
▪ 3 p.m.-midnight Oct. 15
▪ 8 a.m.-midnight Oct. 16-17 and 22-24
▪ 8 a.m.-11 p.m. Oct. 18-21 and 25
HOW MUCH:
▪ $10 ages 13-64 (Advance online $8 through Oct. 15, and $9 Oct. 15-25)
▪ $6 military and their dependents
▪ $5 ages 6-12 (Advance online $3 through Oct. 15, and $4 Oct. 15-25)
▪ Free ages 5 and younger, and 65 and older
ALSO: Available advance online through Oct. 15 –
▪ “Mega Pass,” good for all 11 days, $66.
▪ “Mini Pass,” covering any four days, $24.
RIDE TICKETS: $18 for $10 advance online through Oct. 15, and $1 each on site.
GRANDSTAND SHOWS: $10 extra each –
▪ “United Pullers of the Carolinas Tractor Pull,” 6 p.m. Oct. 16, noon and 6 p.m. Oct. 17, and 1 p.m. Oct. 18.
▪ Demolition Derby and Monster Truck Freestyle, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23-24 and 2:30 p.m. Oct. 25.
SCHEDULED ENTERTAINERS: Free with admission (Tickets for reserved floor seats available at box office at 9 a.m. the day of each show, with six-ticket limit), with all shows 7:30 p.m. (doors open 7 p.m.) –
▪ FireHouse with The Fifth, Oct. 15
▪ “The Great I Am” gospel concert, Oct. 16
▪ Jason Michael Carroll with Luke Combs and Stephanie Quayle, Oct. 17
▪ Orquesta GarDel, Oct. 18
▪ Nuv Yug presents “Bollywood Night,” Oct. 19
▪ Black Sheep with Shadina, Oct. 20
▪ Band of Oz, and The Embers, Oct. 21
▪ “A Night of Praise,” with gospel choirs, Oct. 22
▪ The Love Language, with Spider Bags, Oct. 23
▪ Charlie Daniels Band, with Kasey Tyndall, Oct. 24.
▪ Nantucket, with Sidewinder, Oct 25.
INFORMATION: 919-733-2145 or www.ncstatefair.org
This story was originally published October 8, 2015 at 1:00 AM with the headline "Fall a fair time across eastern Carolinas."